Police are appealing for vigilance following an attempted ‘vishing’ scam in Dalkeith.
Around 12.30pm on Friday, a man in his seventies attended a bank on the High Street after being instructed to withdraw a four-figure sum of money.
He had received a call earlier that day from two men who claimed to represent his bank.
They said he was required to withdraw the money and meet them in person to hand this over.
While on the phone, they also tried unsuccessfully to obtain account details, such as his sort code and PIN number.
PC Rebecca Fraser of Dalkeith said: “Thanks to the bank’s vigilance, this man was prevented from handing over a large sum of money.
“Perpetrators of these types of scams are highly manipulative and very convincing, often having basic details about your banking and accounts.
“I cannot stress enough that you should always be wary of people contacting you claiming that you need to transfer or withdraw money.
“If this happens to you, tell the caller that you will contact the bank on your own terms to discuss this and hang up.
“No bank will ever ask you to withdraw or transfer money so go into your local branch as soon as possible and advise them of this call.
“Alternatively, call them yourself but always make sure that this is on a different phone to that which you were contacted on.
“These people often target the elderly and vulnerable so please advise any friends, neighbours or relatives to be wary of these types of calls.”
Anyone with information about this is urged to contact Police Scotland on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
